Global Warming -- Learn to Live with It!

Whether you believe man is directly responsible for the hottest years on record in the last decade, or you are inclined to think it's simply a climatic cycle the earth routinely experiences, we really don't appear to have very much control over it for now. Out of the 12 hottest years on record, 11 of them have occurred since 1995. In the last century on earth, the average temperature has risen by less than 1 degree Celsius. That in itself doesn't sound like a whole lot. But when you look at further, you'll find the temperature difference between an ice age and now is only about 5 degrees Celsius. Since the industrial revolution began greenhouse gases have risen dramatically. So has methane gas and carbon dioxide levels as well. It's fair to say humans have probably had some affect on these increased levels. How much will still be debated long after all of us are gone, that is if you believe we'll still be here. No matter what you believe, the fact is it has taken hundreds of years for these gases to build up to the current levels. These gases don't appear to dissipate very quickly. So no matter how far we reach to make plans to change it, there is no guarantee we can stop this buildup anytime soon.

Most scientists looking into this matter agree that greenhouse gas levels are going to continue to rise for the next few decades no matter what we do now. Some scientists estimate to keep the greenhouse gas levels the same as they are now would require at least a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. When you look at the current and future technology along with constant world growth, it's hard to imagine how we can collectively reduce our industrial growth enough to even maintain the current levels. China's current expansion alone is putting out more carbon dioxide levels than the entire USA did in the early industrial revolution years.

At our current pace, the worlds energy consumption is slated to double by 2050. When you consider the bulk of that energy will be from fossil fuels, it doesn't seem conceivable that we can reduce these levels at all. Just with China and India alone, there are more than 600 coal-fired power plants being built. The world's dependence on fossil fuels is showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. I'm not suggesting for one minute we are all doomed, but if we really are the cause of global warming than our addiction to fossil fuels will need to be rehabilitated.

It is hard to believe with all the technology we possess, and the fact that the price of gasoline is so volatile we don't focus more money and effort on weaning ourselves off these types of energy. If we could just develop clean coal technology and utilize hybrid cars, it would be a giant step in the right direction. Not to mention all the other possibilities that exist. George Bush said it best in the state of the union address, when he said we are addicted to oil. To put oil out of business will require not just another energy source, but another huge profit source. As long as greenhouse gases are a bi-product of billions of dollars in profitability, they will continue to accumulate. Find a clean source of energy that companies can make enormous revenues from, and global warming will take care of itself! Then again if the whole theory about man being responsible for these climate changes proves to be incorrect, it won't matter anyway. Either way you look at it, the planet earth has been here a lot longer than man has. And no matter what we do to our planet, we'll wipe ourselves out long before we destroy the earth!

We can debate the global warming issue till the end of the world, and we probably will, but it's hard to imagine that mankind is going to scale back his plans to develop every square inch on this planet. Outside of moving to Mars, we will have to learn to live with the effects of global warming whether we like it or not. No matter what your theory is on this issue, climatic changes are going to occur with or without global warming.